Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

Mac Arena Beach Club is very close to East Ender -- the road between isn't very direct so on the map it looks like it's a 5-10 minute drive, though I think it's a fairly short walk if you cut through the beach. For the fourth stage, though, I don't think they mean the beach club (I'm assuming the stage is on the beach in front of East Ender). Either way, should be very feasible to go to both if you wish.

Some friends and I had been thinking about going to East Ender, but I've decided against it... going to actual Sonar on Friday night (really want to see Kraftwerk, Karenn and Raime), and already have too many party tickets in central Barcelona for Thursday night...

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

I'm going to East Ender both nights since I bought the 2 day pass. Thursday East Ender I'll be bouncing between CLR & Fact stages. Friday I'll leave Sonar after Kraftwerk and will be parked at the Diynamic stage.

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

Originally Posted by flea73

I'm going to East Ender both nights since I bought the 2 day pass. Thursday East Ender I'll be bouncing between CLR & Fact stages. Friday I'll leave Sonar after Kraftwerk and will be parked at the Diynamic stage.

right on! The videos I've seen of the event look bad ass. We've decided to go Friday! We've got an event at the grand hotel central(right by our hotel, which is good) to get out butts up and moving

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

east ender is waaay too expensive I feel with all the great parties going on... although i would love to see squillace and tanzmann b2b, always a treat! The free parties that are going on at mac arena beach are ridiculous and from the videos I've seen it looks like you could just bring your own alcohol since its just on the beach... can anyone shed any light on this??

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

Originally Posted by shaunlf08

The free parties that are going on at mac arena beach are ridiculous and from the videos I've seen it looks like you could just bring your own alcohol since its just on the beach... can anyone shed any light on this??

This is absolutely true, at least for those at Mac Arena Mar Beach Club. There is no "venue" in the sense of a managed entrance/perimeter - so they can't limit the size of the party nor keep you from bringing things in. (In theory I suppose security might confront you if you were felt to be doing something illegal, though people were being really out of hand without anyone saying anything to them).

The 'venue' is basically.... port-a-potties, a bar, and a stand where you can order food. There is a covered VIP area. Otherwise it's just open air on the beach. The bar was really expensive, and there is not much in the area (there were a couple of cafes on the road behind the beach, but they were not open late). The food they sell at the beach is not terrible, but it was overpriced.

Definitely would want to bring your own food, alcohol and water. Also not a bad idea to bring your own toilet paper & some hand sanitizer as the bathrooms got a little gross later in the night, ran out of toilet paper, and there was no place to wash your hands.

There will also be people selling individual cans of beer on the beach. (This is a thing in all of Barcelona - usually Pakistani guys selling on streets or the beaches to make money). They'll be more expensive than the store, but less expensive than the venue. It may seem weird, but it's also an option if you don't want to carry a lot of beer with you.

We had a great time on Sunday of last year with mimosas and then harder drinks we'd brought from home. We were even able to find really durable disposable plastic cocktail glasses at a corner store.

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

I believe it's illegal but unenforced. People drink on the street constantly, people will sell you alcohol on the street, hell, on my way to events last year, on a city bus, people were sharing a bottle of wine with random strangers. On the Sonar by Night shuttle, someone made mixed drinks with a shaker and all. I always wondered what the hell they did with the shaker once they got to the venue, heh.

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

Someone posted on Resident Advisor about selling their 1st release ticket for the Drumcode party on Sunday. Would I have any problems at the door from buying someone else's ticket?

Hello Flea!

Thanks for your message.
You're really right to ask for this information, cause the ticket policy is getting stricter this year. Here's the instructions Resident Advisor is giving concerning the resell of tickets: "As per the Billing Details page of the ticket transaction, "You will need to show your credit card and matching identification in order to enter the venue."

We can not change the name on e-tickets. As your tickets were purchased with someone else's card you will need a print out of their ticket confirmation and an accompanying permission letter from the cardholder to authorise you using the tickets in their name.

You will also need a copy/scan of their payment card. If there are security concerns, the card holder may opt to cross out the card number except for the last 4 digits which must be legible, as this is the authorisation number for this transaction."

So please be really careful with that!
I remain at your disposal if you need anything more

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

I'll post more when i get home but i had a blast and several of the sets i saw were among the best i've seen all year. I didn't find the crowds AS annoying as last year but have to say i enjoyed the official sonar events far better than any of the six off sonar shows i went to. Not only was the music better, but the crowds weren't as sloppy.

Sonar by night's Friday run of Raime, Kraftwerk, Objekt, Karenn was the best series of sets i've seen in a long time. I am becoming a little obsessed with blawan...

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

Good times and was surprised how international the festival was. Met people from Chile, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and your various European nations. Everyone was pretty knowledgeable of the music and eager to share what parties they went to or were going to. The actual Sonar festival (Night) was in a ugly venue and there was not much area to sit down - so everyone just sat on the concrete. Pretty rough for a festival that goes from 10pm to 8am(?). The port-o-potties located indoors at the mainstage area was completely flooded right after Kraftwerk which was really disgusting. Luckily I didn't have any acts I wanted to see in there for the rest of the night. That being said, the music was excellent and the bumper cars was chaotic fun, especially since something like that would never exist in the States.

Wed @ Boulevard
Harvey McKay, Applescal, Max Cooper were all solid for the opening night for me. Nothing blew me away but each had their moments of excellence. For the future, you do not need to buy passes for a showcase here. As mentioned before, 11-12pm is free and when I arrived around 1ish, there was someone at the corner giving free stamps to people. Sound was not great and awkward layout meant people were always trying to maneuver through the crowd to get from one room to another, bathroom, or bar.

Thursday @ BeCool
Pangea, 2562, and Ben UFO all had great sets IMO. 2562 started off weird but in a good way and had a much better set then I expected so he was my highlight of the night. Joy Orbison didn't do it for me to start with so I missed most of him and was outside talking to the drunk folks. Pearson Sound started off good but transitioned to trap (had the last set and the crowd that remained was pretty sloppy). Granted the transition into the more club hip hop beats was pretty decent but that was my cue to leave.

Friday @ Sonar Night
Saw too little of Raime to have a judgement. Kraftwerk was excellent and I couldn't have asked for a better way to kick off the night. Everyone was loving it and I'm really glad I finally got to see them. Had some open time so wandered around from Eats Everything (20min) > Angel Molina (bumper cars) > Two Door Cinema Club > Antal. Basically just people watched and observed the shit show around me and all the open drug usage. Pretty entertaining. Met up with Chiapet & friends for Objekt and Karenn which was the best I saw all week. So much fun. Also saw Richie Hawtin and Derrick May well into the morning before calling it quits.

Saturday @ Nitsa
Hotflush showcase was pretty much a big failure for me. I was so tired from staying up until morning each night and not sleeping much because it was so hot during the day that I made it only for Locked Groove (played to an empty venue which filled in gradually by the end) and like 15min of Dense & Pika before leaving to get something to eat and head back to bed. Missed out on Scuba and George Fitzgerald.

Sunday @ Parc Del Forum
Saw Trus'me b2b Ryan Elliott and Move D. Was enjoyable but spent most of the time sitting down in the shade as my body was failing me. The slop show was pretty amusing to see however. Lots of people with injuries - arms in slings, crutches, passed out etc. Lots of zombies and people looking like shit generally. Good times EDIT: All three threw down and even got my lazy ass up and dance for like 15 min intervals multiple times. haha.

I couldn't make it to any of the day events during the week which had some of the better parties. If I was to do it again, I would definitely take advantage of those and also Sonar by Day which had some very appealing acts as well. I also probably shouldn't have drank so much earlier in the festival as it really took a toll on my body and wallet by the end (drinks are pricey in the venue but you can leave off-sonar venues and buy cheaper alcohol and return). The whole Sonar/Off-Sonar festival is a fun experience and a lot of it has to do with all the endless opportunities/planning. I am definitely glad that I did it but I would likely opt for another festival unless I was traveling around the immediate area or if there was a way for my body to become more youthful...but maybe that is because I'm still hungover.

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

To be honest, I didn't care for the Parc del Forum venue when I went on Thursday. It had potential but is too farfrom everthing else. The show I went to (Save the Day) was disorganized and people were already sloppy by mid afternoon. I wouldn't go back there again, I think I'm also done with Boulevard for the reasons you mentioned.

FWIW, Sonar by Night was nowhere near the slop fest it was last year. I was actually really pleasantly surprised how much better the crowd was. The Poble Espanyol shows were my biggest disappointments - at tjmes too overcrowded, not a good vibe from the crowd, and not worth the spendy ticket prices.

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

Sonar by day was pretty sweet. I know that some people I talked to liked the feel of the old venue more, but they didn't seem to mind the new location as the last years venue was getting so insanely over crowded. With that said, it was really chill. I loved sitting on the fake grass they layed down. Just chilling having beers and a couple smokes. Lindstrom/Terje set was spot on, it was the total vibe of the day...relaxing, great sun*while setting), smooth beer. I ended up going to La terrazza that night for a bit as well for that half baked thing. Its was a bit on the crowded side, but pretty venue. I stayed for about 45 minutes...heh, nothing to special. We ending up meeting some cool people at sonar that Thursday as well and partied for the rest of the night until the wee hours! amazing time in the heart of city

ill write more tomorrow time for bed...

btw, as far as the drugs went...it was all over in the open. People were actually generous in giving as well! I got asked if I needed any pills at every sonar event and 1 off party, but I never indulged from total strangers coming up to me

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

Originally Posted by chiapet

To be honest, I didn't care for the Parc del Forum venue when I went on Thursday. It had potential but is too farfrom everthing else. The show I went to (Save the Day) was disorganized and people were already sloppy by mid afternoon. I wouldn't go back there again, I think I'm also done with Boulevard for the reasons you mentioned.

FWIW, Sonar by Night was nowhere near the slop fest it was last year. I was actually really pleasantly surprised how much better the crowd was. The Poble Espanyol shows were my biggest disappointments - at tjmes too overcrowded, not a good vibe from the crowd, and not worth the spendy ticket prices.

I'd say Nitsa was my favorite off sonar venue as it was a proper concert hall. BeCool was alright as well. Parc Del Forum was pretty basic with nothing put into the atmosphere but they did have 8 funktion one speakers so I was happy with the sound. I'd imagine all the open air spots are shitshows.

I didnt mind the festival crowd at all. I didnt get the whole ticket-for-drinks system at the bar but you're able to pay cash directly to the mobile beer vendors.

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

I didn't have any issues with the festival crowds either. Sonar by night was very crowded though. When we got there for pet shop boys its wasn't bad at all. but that was one of the early shows. by the time we left it was bumpin. I never did the bumper cars Pet shops boys were awesome. They put on a great show and crowd was very into it. I wanted to see maceo plex at the end of the night, but we didn't make it past 2am. We had to get to airport later that morning so we took a nap before going.

Friday, we went to grand central hotel rooftop party and had a wonderful time. It was just the right amount of people, the people were friendly and laid back. Good DJs and little stage set up well. The view was beautiful and capture the moment quiet nicely. later in the night I went to that east ender event. It was a bit of shit show imo. not sure I'd do that one again. I would of rather done some sort of beach party, but apearently macarena beach was closed so I didn't get to witness that. I did see dubfire and it was great.

saturday we hit up a couple of the poble esponyal partys. The Pampa records one at the montistary was actually very good. It was a bit early in the day, but it wasn't crowded. people were either walking around, sitting on that little hill soaking up the sun rays or dancing. The music was perfect for a day time party. The location was pretty, amazing views and a very tranquil sense about the surroundings. later on we grabbed a quick tapas meal which was pretty bad within the poble...oh'well...sat there and listened to Dixons DJ set coming from the huge plaza in which they were throwing a mega party. it sounded awesome. After dinner we went into that party since I had gotten tickets for it as well. Jamie Jones eventually got on the decks and was rocking it hard...I had actually wished we stayed at the other location as it was more our speed...but no worries. everyone was entirely f"cked out of theyre mine on something to say the least. it was a crazy crowded party and nearly impossibly to buy a darn beer which kind of pissed me off. we eventually left there and went to the sonar by night.

overall my experience was amazing. We knocked out the sight seeing the first leg of the trip was good. I was pretty tired and had gotten sick one day, so Sonar couldn't of come any quicker by the time it arrived on thursday

If I think of anything else of my experiences I'll be sire to post more

Re: Sonar 2013 and off Sonar events

I never really had to wait to long to get tickets as both the day and night sessions. Getting drinks at sonar night...wait was a bit longer, but bar tenders weren't on that slow barcona wave length. Haha